The End of America

by Pete Thorsen

  “What a grim view of the future that could be but so true. But are enough of them in the government that evil?”

  “I believe most in government now are there for power and greed. This scenario would fit them to a tee. Plus they all knew this was coming and said nothing to the American people about it. And they have been hiding it for awhile now.”

  “Many would still be left that could fight and they would fight.”

  “But the government could very easily shut down all communications again and include all phone and radio communications. Those that wanted to fight would have to find each other face to face to join together to fight the government. Without communications it would be difficult to join up and they could be infiltrated by the government and watched by drones. Plus all the superior firepower the government would have including air power.”

  “As awful as that scenario is, it does sound plausible at least. This is one time when I hope you are totally wrong.”

  “I hope I’m wrong also. But at least we are set up here pretty well and off in the country like we are I don’t think even Martial Law will effect us too much.”

  “The first thing they will do in Martial Law will be to outlaw all private ownership of firearms. They will likely give a very short time period where we can all turn in our firearms and after that if you are caught with a gun you will be arrested or just shot.”

  “I would guess most offenses will have death as a punishment because they have no money for keeping prisoners.”

  “Could you two guys just stop talking about this? You are describing the United States turning into a dystopian society. Whether true or not let’s stop discussing it.”

  So we did change the subject and talked of other things and whether they should go back in to town tomorrow to buy even more stuff while we still could. It was decided that tomorrow they would stay home and rearrange and repack and try to make more room for storage and get a good inventory on the food.

  Then on Wednesday go buy some more if they could find more room. Also more garden seeds and Mac thought it was time for him to buy a couple guns with ammunition if he could find something.

  So Tuesday morning I went to work and the rest set to work re-organizing, repacking, and inventorying. I think they had way more work ahead of them than I had even though I was the one with the ‘real’ job. When we got a break today I noticed a note posted in the break room.

  One of the aides had a note listing quite a bunch of stuff she and her husband had up for sale (he had lost his job and now they needed money). She had two guns listed but said I would have to call her husband about what they were as she did not know anything about them. So I called Mac told him the scoop and gave him the phone number and the husband’s name for him to check out while I went back to work.

  When I got home I was met by a very excited Mac who couldn’t wait to tell me about the guns he had purchased. One was an older looking rifle with a scope that he said was a Remington 742 in .308. The other was one of those newer plastic semi-automatic pistols which he said was an older Glock model 17. He had bought the guns and what ammunition the guy had for them and Mac thought he had got them very cheap at six hundred dollars for the whole package deal. I had to admit that did seem like a pretty good deal for a deer rifle and a pistol.

  The three had got their project done and there was more room now plus Flo said everything is way more organized than it was before. They said they were going back in town tomorrow and pick up a few more items that they thought we were a little light on in our inventory.

  I told them to stock up on more spices because if there was no foreign trade then spices would be very hard to get. And maybe buy more condiments and sundry items also. It would never get any cheaper and I could for see severe shortages coming in the future. We had a nice simple meal and talked well into the evening. We checked the ‘news’ like we always did buy it was just the normal drivel.

  Wednesday at work the aide that had the guns listed for sale looked me up handed me a fairly heavy sack.

  “This is some more stuff that my husband found that was supposed to go with the guns that your son-in-law bought yesterday.”

  “How much do I owe you?”

  “My husband said it went with so you don’t owe us anymore.”

  I took a quick look in the heavy bag and handed her twenty dollars.

  “Here is another twenty. It is well worth that and I’m sure you can use the money.”

  “Thank you. We certainly can use the money even though you don’t have to give us anymore.”

  “I think we are still getting a bargain. Thank you for bringing in this stuff.”

  She went back to work and I just set the bag next to my lunch box so I wouldn’t forget it. That evening Mac was surprised and happy to get the bag of stuff. He went through it right away and there were two magazines for the pistol and one ten rounder for the rifle. Plus two more boxes of shells for the rifle and one more box for the pistol. There was also a nylon type holster for the pistol. I was happy for him and just hoped the government would not end up trying to take our guns away from us.

  Flo and the kids had bought quite a bit more stuff again today which she said the kids paid for with their credit card. This time they bought a lot more of the staples and had taken my advice on the spices, condiments, and sundry items. Flo said we easily have at least a year’s supply of food for the four of us and this is if we don’t supplement it at all from the garden or from hunting and fishing.

  They had also stopped at a branch of kid’s bank and they had withdrawn the maximum amount of five hundred dollars in cash for the week. At the same time they transferred some from their savings to their checking account to make sure there was plenty in there to cover the credit card bill when it came due. They had the card paid automatically out of their checking.

  They said on the way here from California they had stopped a couple of shops and bought a quite a bunch of silver coins using their credit card and that is why they had to transfer the money out of the savings account. This was the first I heard about them getting the silver money and I told them that is was likely a very good idea.

  Thursday and Friday went smooth (as smooth as the new normal would allow anyway) both at work and at home. We had waited all week to hear from the police about Ava but we heard nothing. We can only assume that things are really screwed up down by where she lived. We had tried off and on to call their phones with no results.

  It appears we will never find out exactly what happened to her and Pat but we can take solace from knowing they are now in a better place that is free from pain and hardships. Friday evening was when the big news came in the form of a special news announcement from the President.

  “Citizens of the United States I make this announcement tonight with a heavy heart. I have set up this news broadcast to come clean and tell all of you the grim truth about your country. For some time now we, your government, have been deceiving you through omission. I think and hope we did this with only your best interests at heart while we, your elected officials have tried in vain to fix a massive problem.

  The great United States of America is broke. The years of over spending and the resulting huge national debt and the debt of your city, county, and state governments has reached critical mass and resulted in the total collapse of the US Dollar. Yes you heard correctly. The US Dollar is dead and is no longer accepted outside our borders. We here in Washington are working feverishly trying to come up with a solution to this massive problem. It is our belief that the answer lies with the creation of a new currency and we are working out the problems now associated with the creation of that new currency.

  We thought and hoped that by keeping a tight lid on this shocking news that life here inside the USA could go on in a near normal fashion until we had worked out the total solution to our national problems. But extreme pressure has been put on us to tell all of you the truth and the fact is that our solution is taking way longer to come to fru
ition than any of us had envisioned. We had shut down large portions of the internet and censored most of the news broadcasts but that will cease as of tonight.

  We are trying to keep as many government services up and running as possible during this time but the fact is huge cut backs in all areas will be necessary on all government levels. Basically there will be no more ‘free stuff’ from this government or from state governments. The austerity cuts we make will be severe and reach all through the whole government system. You will start seeing evidence of these massive cuts immediately and they will likely affect almost every United States citizen.

  I sincerely wish I could honestly say that times will soon be back to normal but that is not possible. Truthfully we as a nation face troubled times ahead. But Americans are strong and resourceful and we will make it through these hard times by pulling together and helping each other as we have done in the past. Only by working together can we get through this with minimal disruption and hardships.

  With the news now open and uncensored you will likely see and hear some shocking and very troubling scenes from here and around the world. I ask all of you to remain calm and help each other through this time of turmoil. All of us here in Washington will tirelessly continue working to solve this problem and restore our nation to its former glory as quickly as possible.

  Thank you and may God bless us all.”

  When the announcement ended there was complete shocked silence around the room. It was Mac who broke the silence and expressed the thoughts we were all having.

  “It will certainly hit the fan now. The riots we once saw only in other countries will now hit here in our cities with extreme severity and likely severe violence. People will stupidly riot and ruin their own homes and cities and hurt themselves and those around them.”

  “Without saying it the President made it plain that rioting would solve nothing. You can’t get blood out of a turnip. The government has no money but many will still expect the government to take care of their every need.”

  “When they see that that the protests and riots get them nothing they will really turn to violence to get what they want.”

  “The many years of government waste and corruption has finally netted the inevitable results.”

  “Do you think the old folks home where you work will close down and you will lose your job, Dad?”

  “Yes I think my job days are numbered.”

  “What will happen to all those people who are patients there?”

  “I guess I don’t really know. Some will be sent to live with their families I would think. Those without families might be taken care of by church groups or volunteers maybe. Some or most will likely die because they need special medications or special care.”

  “Many people throughout the United States will likely die won’t they?”

  “Yes I think many will die and it won’t just be the very old or sick and it won’t just be in the United States either.”

  “Everybody is very lucky that this happened in the spring instead of the fall. This way there will be several months of good warm weather for everyone to prepare for the winter ahead.”

  “That is very true. I just hope people realize that fact and take advantage of the summer to prepare. I fear that many will not or simply can not.”

  “Maybe the news channels will tell people to prepare and give them ideas on what to do.”

  “It is very possible they will but that does not mean that people will take heed of those warnings and instructions.”

  “It is going to be very bad isn’t it?”

  “Yes it will be very bad. It is so good that we are together here and we have done a lot to get ready for what is surely ahead us.”

  “Soon it will be warm enough to get the garden prepared and we can start some things in the house ahead of time.”

  “Yes and we can really enlarge our garden so we can grow a lot more than we ever have in the past. We have plenty of seeds for this year and for the next year also. With four of us working on the garden we can easily keep it tended and weed free.”

  “We are really lucky to be here. I can not hardly imagine what horrors we would face in LA if we had to stay there. And I am so glad we came here when we did. Thank you both Mom and Dad for everything.”

  “Thanks are not necessary. We would have been literally worried sick if you were still in the city. Plus we fully intend to get as much work out of you as possible so when you go to bed nights tired and sore from all the work you have to do remember just how lucky you are.”

  “I can guarantee that we will both work as hard as we can.”

  “I think besides being the strong back in this outfit, Mac’s time in the military might prove to be a big asset to us all.”

  “You know I will do everything I can to keep all of us safe. Do you think it will come down to defending our lives way out here in the country?”

  “It all depends on just how bad it gets. But if food supplies are short then people will get desperate and we can expect to likely have trouble even out here in the country.”

  “Have you thought about raising chickens?”

  “Yes we have thought about it a little but a couple of the neighbors raise chickens and they are both set up pretty good for it. That’s where we get our eggs now is from them. I think we are better off letting them raise the chickens and we can buy or trade with the neighbors for the eggs.”

  “I saw that eggs were in regular cartons and assumed you bought them in town.”

  “We bring the cartons back to the neighbors each time and so do the other people that get eggs from them. It is way easier for everyone that way. It is something we have always done. The President is right about one thing and that is everyone is going to have to work together if we are to have any hope of getting through all of this.”

  “Maybe more people will realize that and things won’t get as bad as we think.”

  “I think we all hope you are right but only time will tell.”

  We all stayed home over the weekend and the news shows changed back to really having news on them again. Each station even showed extensive footage they had taped earlier that they had not been allowed to air to show everyone what had been happening both here in the United States and throughout the whole world.

  These ‘special’ shows did help us to get up to date on what had been going on. We watched all weekend and were shown many grim scenes from almost everywhere in the world and many bad things from right here in the USA that had already happened that we had heard nothing about.

  It only made all of us think about what might be coming in the weeks and months ahead and just how bad things might get. By Sunday evening they were showing shots from many stores but especially grocery stores of the bare shelves they now had. And of course the riots that had started.

  Chapter Nine

  I went to work on Monday and I have to say there was really not anything different. Oh there was a lot of buzzing conversations about the weekend events but overall it was business as usual. And so went the next couple days at least until Thursday when everyone was called into a meeting (except essential on-duty floor staff). It seems the government cuts had come down the pike and the ‘home’ was going to close down at the end of the month (ten days time).

  The state would be taking the patients that could not be placed with families. This was happening to most of the ‘homes’ throughout the state of Minnesota and presumably the other states as well. Some had enough private funding to remain open and would also be accepting patients (if they could afford to go there).

  The local administrator made it plain that he expected the new state run homes to be very over-crowded and likely poorly run at least in the beginning. He said several times in the meeting that this whole situation was totally out of his hands and he was very sorry it had come to this. He said all the workers here would receive two weeks of termination pay and he wished them the best of luck.

  I had expected this but appar
ently most of the other workers had not. There was considerable grumbling throughout the rest of the day. Several made idiotic statements like ‘I should just quit now rather than work the last ten days’ or ‘I’m going to check with a lawyer to see if this is even legal’ or ‘Think of all the unemployment benefits they will have to pay’.

  I never entered into any of the conversations which was common for me anyway. People still didn’t get it; the world was now a totally different place. For many it would come down to adapt and live or live in the past and die.

  Thursday was also the first of the ‘special government service bulletins’.

  “This is the first of the special service bulletins that we will release as needed to relay vital information to the citizens of the United States. These will be broadcast on all television and radio stations throughout the USA. They will be broadcasted at least four times per day at 12 am and pm and also at 6 am and pm local time. Each bulletin will be broadcast for three consecutive days for a minimum of twelve broadcasts. Stations may broadcast these bulletins additional times through the day besides at the required times.

  Today the Congress of the United States repealed the Posse Comitatus Act. This will allow US military to be used as necessary to police inside the US borders. The military will be deployed heavily along all US borders to prevent illegal entry into the USA. This is being carried out at this time. The full might of the US Armed Forces will be used to stop all illegal entry into the United States. This does include the use of live fire.

  Also US troops will assist other federal agents in the apprehension and deportation of illegal aliens found within the borders of the United States. Illegals currently residing in the United States are urged to self deport at this time.

  When illegal aliens are found by federal agents they will be immediately deported without any of their possessions and no attempt will be made by the US government to try locate other family members to be deported at the same time. Illegals that are unable to self deport for any reason can turn themselves in with their family and they will then be deported as a unit and will not be separated.”